Tom Rife: Sometimes, the games really matter

It's that all too often, lost in all the bickering and negotiating and cheating and drug testing and whining and politicking and showboating and over-moneyizing, are the games themselves.

It's as if what happens between the start and finish of a sporting event is secondary to the rigmarole that engulfs it.

Which, it should be obvious, is just plain witless. If it weren't for the games and the drama and endless array of emotions they produce, the sports landscape would be one unbearably ho-hum existence.

Even on the high school level, that's right, the high school level, the darndest things tend to happen in these darned games.

And darn it anyway, such games -- without prior warning -- can turn into entertaining, befuddling, stirring and memorable experiences.

Truth is, they can be just plain fun to be a part of, which in the old days, used to be high up in the long list of things that actually defined sports.

What took place Friday night in the small town of Clewiston is only the latest example. It was a night when most people arrived at charming Cane Field expecting one thing and departed two and a half hours later just shaking their heads.

That the Immokalee Indians' talented but struggling football team would suddenly catch lightning in a bottle hardly seemed part of the evening's forecast.

But so much for forecasting, because the proud Red and White rose up from 14 points down in a hostile environment to crush the always-ready Tigers, 46-21.

The stunning turn of events that included seven unanswered touchdowns ended Immokalee's three-game skid and gave the Indians the Class 2A District 6 championship they might well have given up on.

Not even interim head coach Phil Vogt, filling in for the suspended John Weber, could put his finger on it.

Looking back, the fuse may have been ignited late in the first quarter when it appeared as though the Indians' Lionel Loya had intercepted a tipped pass and returned it to deep inside Clewiston territory.

The "pick" was wiped out, though, when a roughing-the-passer penalty was called and the Tigers ended up with the ball and a first down at the IHS 14. Four plays later, Clewiston scored to take a 14-0 lead.

Appearing insulted, the fired-up Indians from that point forward cranked it up and answered back in all the right ways.

Not to overstate matters, but the surprising reversal of fate was something to behold. If ever men like Vogt, Tony Allen, Israel Gallegos, Grant Redhead, Brian Bruce, Lee Langley and the rest of the coaches were guilty of coaching their butts off, this was such a time.

To watch them come together in Weber's absence was worth ten times the price of admission. To see the Indians enjoying the game of football again was even more priceless.

It was one of those nights when the game did matter.

Had the moment gotten lost in the sideshow, that would have been the crime.

You can e-mail sports editor Tom Rife at tdrife@naplesnews.com.